


Secret Admirer

by lostin_space



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Flowers, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27383923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space
Summary: Carlos keeps getting flowers and he can't figure out who sent them.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 13
Kudos: 127





	Secret Admirer

**Author's Note:**

> In an alternate universe where TK didn't get dumped right before he met Carlos and he already wanted to fall in love with him

Carlos walked into work and froze a few feet away from his desk.

“Those came for you,” Batiste said, gesturing to the bouquet of flowers that had apparently found their rightful place on his desk. Carlos blinked a few times and slowly walked closer, touching one of the soft yellow petals as he looked for a card. When he found it, he carefully plucked it and looked closer to see who would’ve sent him flowers. He wasn’t exactly someone to send flowers to.

_Carlos,_

_I’ve spent too many days trying to decide how to talk to you. I chose romance._

_-your someone_

Carlos’ face felt unbearably hot as he looked around as if expecting to see his secret admirer peering through a window to catch his reaction. He didn’t see anything out of place except for the flowers themselves, so he sat down. He tried to think of everyone he’d met recently who seemed like they might want to send him flowers. He couldn’t think of anyone that stood out.

“Who are they from?” Batiste asked, leaning over. It felt weirdly childish to gossip about surprise flowers, but he suddenly wanted to. Only there was nothing to gossip about because he didn’t know who sent them.

“Anonymous,” he said, shaking his head as he placed the card in his top drawer, “Probably someone from a call.”

“Damn. They should’ve brought cookies then.”

“They shouldn’t have brought anything at all,” Carlos said, eyes still on the flowers. No one had gotten him flowers before. Was it stupid of him to be flattered even though it was from a stranger?

“It’s weird. The lonely housewives usually chose to lust over the firefighters,” Batiste said. Carlos rolled his eyes. “Maybe they just missed the obvious gay thing.”

“Do I have an obvious gay thing?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Batiste shrugged.

“I mean, probably,” he said. Carlos shook his head and reached out to touch one of the petals again.

He brought them home at the end of his shift and put him very carefully in his windowsill, reading over how to properly take care of them so they didn’t die right away. He made it all the way through dinner and a shower and into bed before he finally caved and googled if there was a way to replant them. 

Once he realized there was, sort of, he put it in his schedule to go buy pots and some potting mix.

-

The second bouquet came a week later, proof that it wasn’t a one off.

Carlos felt more than a little confused as he hesitantly reached for the card again. Part of him was extremely fond and another part was kind of scared it was someone being creepy. He didn’t think his heart could take it if the first person to buy him flowers ended up being creepy. Still, he gently touched the petals as he read the card.

_Carlos,_

_Alright, I was too subtle. Hint: I’m new in town. Is that too obvious?_

_-your someone_

Carlos sat back in his hair, face a little flushed all over again. His someone. Who spoke like that? Who would call themselves that? Who would go out of their way to send him flowers twice? He thought about people who he knew were new in town. For a moment his thoughts lingered over to the new firefighter…

No. That didn’t make sense. They’d really only seen each other a couple times where they were at the same call and then once at that bar. Sure, they’d danced, but they didn’t talk after that and he was sure TK wasn’t interested. If he was interested, he would’ve just said it to his face. He was confident like that.

So it had to be someone else.

The entire day, he spent his shift wondering who the hell would send him flowers twice. He eventually convinced himself that it simply had to be from a call. And, moreover, it was probably a woman or someone simply being kind. He shouldn’t worry about it or put much thought into it.

Still, as he arrived at a call where TK also happened to be, he found himself looking at him and wondering if it was him all over again. He flashed a cocky smile and gave him a once over, but he didn’t come up to talk. Carlos took that as more than enough proof that he certainly wasn’t the flower sender.

That night, he sat down with the new bouquet and clipped the salvageable parts the right way to be replanted. He knew it was probably stupid to keep them, but it felt nice to actually do something with a gift he couldn’t even thank someone for sending.

He tried to put it out of his head, it was probably someone he wasn’t interested in anyway. They were just being nice and he accepted their niceness, that was it. But, even when he stopped by a coffee shop the next morning, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He went through a list of everyone he’d come into contact with that had told him specifically that they were new in town. He came up short.

“Wait, I’ll pay for his,” a voice said as Carlos was handing the barista his card. He looked at the person who was holding out his card further and couldn’t help the smile that found his face when he saw TK.

Okay, so maybe TK wasn’t the sender. Didn’t mean he wasn’t interested.

“Thanks,” Carlos said after TK ordered his own coffee.

“No problem,” he said as they walked to the other side of the counter, “Saw my shot and then took it.”

Carlos held back a smile and nodded.

“Well, I’m glad you did.”

-

The next week, another bouquet ended up at his desk.

Carlos let out a slightly baffled sigh as he walked up to it. He’d been talking with TK, mostly just texting and the occasional coffee date. They both had been too slammed at work to feel up to having a real date, but they were planning on it. But here was another damn bouquet to make him confused.

He quickly plucked the card out of the middle.

_Carlos,_

_I’m not sure if you’ve figured it out. You haven’t said anything. You’re so cute._

_-your someone_

He leaned back in his chair and sighed. So he had spoken to the sender. What the hell? How had he spoken to them and still hadn’t figured it out? He again went through his mental list of everyone he’d spoken to in the last week that would also seem the type to send him flowers. Again, he came up short.

He decided to put it out of his mind entirely.

Carlos went about his day, planted the bouquet when he got home, and went to bed and didn’t think about the fact he had a secret admirer. It didn’t even make sense. They were probably messing with him. It was probably someone at work who was pranking him. 

The next night, he had off and he finally, finally got to go out with TK on a real date. They went to a nice restaurant and flirted the whole time. TK flashed his irresistible smile, Carlos fell unfairly head over heels, they split the bill. He liked it. He liked him.

“Would it be too forward of me to ask if I can come inside?” TK asked as they sat outside his house, looking at him without any pressure. Carlos was flooded with adoration as he looked at him. The person who sent him flowers didn’t matter as long as TK looked at him like that and asked questions like that.

“Not forward at all.”

TK smiled and leaned across the center console, kissing him slow and nice and all too smooth for a first kiss. It was like he just knew how to kiss him the right way; he didn’t even need to learn. Carlos could barely stand to part with him long enough to unlock his front door.

The two of them stumbled inside, kissing and pressing up as close as possible. They fell against the wall with laughter and stripped each other with a level of instant comfort Carlos hadn’t felt in awhile. This was way too soon, but it was way too nice to stop it. He didn’t want to stop it.

They fell onto the couch and got lost in each other.

-

TK had to leave relatively early, his alarm going off at a clean 5AM. Carlos felt guilty for keeping him all night.

“I gotta go, my shift starts in an hour,” TK said, pulling on his jeans. He leaned down, though, and kissed him good morning and goodbye. “I’ll see you soon. Text me?”

“Yeah,” Carlos breathed, half asleep and dazed with happiness.

He got up and got dressed an hour later, feeling better than he had in awhile. TK texted him when his shift started to tell him to have a good day because he knew when his shift started. Carlos was so obsessed he didn’t even think about his flower sender.

Until a delivery person came in with a whole bouquet and headed straight for his desk.

Carlos’ eyes widened and he reluctantly accepted them. It was beginning to get out of control. Not because he wasn’t thankful, but because flowers weren’t cheap and he didn’t even know who was sending them. Why didn’t they just talk to him to his face?

_Carlos,_

_Carlos, Carlos, Carlos, Carlos, Carlos. You’ve been on my mind all morning. Have you figured it out yet?_

_-your someone_

And this really needed to stop.

“Excuse me,” Carlos said, quickly jogging to follow the delivery person. They looked only vaguely annoyed that he stopped them. “Is there any way I can find out who sent these or…?”

“I just deliver them,” they sighed. Carlos nodded and didn’t try to stop them when they left. 

He sighed and slinked back to his desk, frowning at the bouquet. It was hard to enjoy this one. He just wanted to know who it was. Why was it so hard? Was he just being blind to the whole thing?

Batiste teased him about it, but he didn’t find it funny. He just wanted to know who the hell it was so he could say ‘thank you, but I’m taken’. Granted, he wasn’t entirely sure that he was taken, but he felt taken and TK was… everything.

He went about his day on high alert, probably questioning too many of the interactions he had with people. Why was this so hard? He was a cop, he should be good at investigating. Apparently that didn’t apply to his own love life.

That night, he managed to convince TK to come over for a late night dinner and the suggestion to more than that. He complied happily and showed up on time, kissing him before he could get the door open all the way. Carlos smiled into it. He liked this. He never wanted to stop.

“Okay, okay, dinner?” Carlos said, reluctantly swatting his hands away. TK laughed and gave him one last kiss before agreeing.

They made their way into the kitchen and TK lingered near the entrance.

“Is something wrong?” Carlos asked. But the look on his face wasn’t anything bad. He just looked unbelievably fond, his cheeks tinted red and a warm smile on his face.

“You planted them?” TK asked, crossing over to the window above his sink that was now very much overpopulated with little plants.

Carlos’ brain short-circuited and he froze for a solid three minutes.

“Wait,” he said, “You sent them?”

TK looked at him for a moment and then laughed a little, "Yeah. Did you still not figure it out?" 

"I completely ruled you out!"

TK laughed a little harder, "Dude, who else would it be?"

"I don't know! I couldn't figure it out, it was driving me crazy," Carlos said, but he was smiling. This he could work with. "I can't believe it was you."

"I can't believe you didn't know," TK said, stepping near him, "I thought you were just playing along."

"No, clearly I just should never become an investigator," Carlos said. TK laughed and grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling him in for a kiss. 

"I can't believe you planted them," he said against his lips, "That's so cute. You're so cute."

"Is cute the best word to describe me?"

"It's what I'm going with," TK said, giving him a few more kisses.

"Let's eat."

That night, they cut and planted the new ones together. 

**Author's Note:**

> Also on my tumblr: spaceskam


End file.
